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Using Isocyanate based paints safely


kiwitina

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After searching and searching for an appropriate spray respirator to filter out isocyanates I've given up. All I seem to find is a swag of information saying that isocyanates are really bad for you or products that say 'not suitable for the use of isocyanates'. Nothing I've seen says 'this is what standard filters you need' or 'this mask filters out isocyanates'.

Any knowledgeable OS'ers know something I might have missed?. Suitable masks? Part numbers etc. It would make sense for me to go and talk with someone at a paint shop but I thought i'd try here first as it would be good to have the info here on OS for everyone.

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Its not just what you would be breathe in - its what you would absorb through your skin too - the shit fucks you up..

Right you are good sir, it is attracted to moisture, which is what makes por15 such damn good shit, and why you really have to be careful with it. Isocyanates are odourless and are very easily absorbed into the body through mucus membranes, nose, mouth, eyeballs etc.. but skin contact is also bad.

We have a tech at work who was overexposed to them in nuclear power plants (figured it would the radiation that would get you huh?) he had an attack a couple of years ago, just from being downwind of another tech who was using brakleen, was a full on wheezing asthmatic type attack. Ambulance etc..

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You'd need to spend like 500 on a respirator mask alone. Considering this it could be cheaper to get someone to paint it for you? Booth with an extractor fan is a big bonus too. Really depends what standard of finish you're after.

Personally, I just wear my 3m full face mask ($250?)with twin filters which I change regularly. Hooded paint overalls and gloves as well when i'm spraying 2K. Pretty lazy with 1K paints, often paint shirtless in shorts and regret it when I'm sticky for the next day or so.

Always feel a little shitty after 2K but I've played with alot worse chemicals.

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You'd need to spend like 500 on a respirator mask alone. Considering this it could be cheaper to get someone to paint it for you? Booth with an extractor fan is a big bonus too. Really depends what standard of finish you're after.

Personally, I just wear my 3m full face mask ($250?)with twin filters which I change regularly. Hooded paint overalls and gloves as well when i'm spraying 2K. Pretty lazy with 1K paints, often paint shirtless in shorts and regret it when I'm sticky for the next day or so.

Always feel a little shitty after 2K but I've played with alot worse chemicals.

The trouble with isocyanates is that they area cumulative poison, and cannot be excreted by the kidneys (i think it's the kidneys where the isocyantes accumulate, could be liver) therefore the more exposure to them you have the more and more there is in your system, the long term affects of which can be pretty severe.

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Yeah I'm aware of that. All I was meaning was if its for a one-off job you probably cant justify the expense of buying the gear to make it safe over getting someone else to do it. But a one-off job wont kill you either, you'll just be a bit tired and dizzy for the rest of the day. Not that i'm encouraging this.

If you're doing it in a garage and you're really worried about the isocyanates , by the time you've bought the stuff to spray it, done the work and dealt with the mess later you could have probably paid someone to do a booth quality job for you.

Just remember alot of your paints, fillers, primers, thinners etc have MEK (methyethyl ketones), Xylene etc and alot of red auto paints still have lead based pigment.

Theres not much out there these days thats not trying to kill you.

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Yeah I'm aware of that. All I was meaning was if its for a one-off job you probably cant justify the expense of buying the gear to make it safe over getting someone else to do it. But a one-off job wont kill you either, you'll just be a bit tired and dizzy for the rest of the day. Not that i'm encouraging this.

If you're doing it in a garage and you're really worried about the isocyanates , by the time you've bought the stuff to spray it, done the work and dealt with the mess later you could have probably paid someone to do a booth quality job for you.

Just remember alot of your paints, fillers, primers, thinners etc have MEK (methyethyl ketones), Xylene etc and alot of red auto paints still have lead based pigment.

Theres not much out there these days thats not trying to kill you.

Wasn't taking a swipe, just elaborating on your information for the OP.

Have to agree with you about everything trying to kill you these days...

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Yeah fuck we used to paint trucks and sheep crates in workshops off the forks of JCBs with just those single round filter masks. And we're talking like 10L of paint then.

Had full face masks with carbon filters that only had a 6 month life in the lab for phosgene/ trichlorethylene but wouldn't wanna paint in one as had pretty terrible visibility.

But I'm pretty confident a stroke or heart attacks gonna get me first anyway haha.

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